"Dear Diary...XD Why the hell is this a thing? Why would a freaking diary be dear to anyone? It's just a stupid stack of papers with a cover XD
Even if your room was set on fire and your diary was reduced to ashes, you'd still have your damn memories locked up in your noggin!
Okay, okay...back on track. It's been a hell of a while since the last time I've taken this thing of the dusty shelf and wrote another entry. Why now? Well, recently I've been thinking a lot about my past, blame a recent near-fatal camping trip for that crap.
There have been quite a few changes in my life these past few months. Some not so good, I only have nine fingers now and my cheek has been scratched up badly. Yeah, facial scars were like the one blemish I didn't have, but it seems my transformation had to go full circle XP
But surprisingly, and I swear I haven't gone delirious from loneliness, the others turned out to be for the better. No, seriously XD
Where do I even start?
"New home, new beginnings." That was one of many empty moral platitudes that made me, Ryan Taylor, wanna blow chunks. It was almost as bad as that ye ol' classic "If you just believe in yourself, your dreams will come true".
Cheese Louise, what retard ever came up with that bullshit?
I suppose I've been a very cynical kid from a very young age, long before I finally reached the stage in my life where being snarky and dismissive about everything around you was considered "cool".
Most saps inevitably lose their innocence at some point in their miserable lives after being an obnoxiously wide-eyed little twerp who would eventually be forced to realize what a cruel, judgmental, self-serving craphole human society was. Once that happened, there was no going back.
Me? I can't even recall ever being that idealistic little ankle-biter to begin with. Not sure if that was a curse or a merciful blessing in disguise? Ever since I was old enough to socialize on my own I had been the subject of scorn and ostracizing from my lame-brained peers.
Being a pasty-skinned, ghoulish-looking kid with mangled teeth and constantly bloodshot eyes undoubtedly had something to do with it, earning me instant fear and distrust from some kids while the more daring ones found it the ideal excuse to single yours truly out as the perfect target for their bullying urges.
Because, if something is ugly it's naturally evil, has no soul and it's only purpose is to be destroyed and triumphed over by the beautiful people. Because beauty equals goodness, that's the moto most people live by XD Stupid, simple and easy to follow.
Right from the beginning, I had to look out for myself. Mom, dad and the bookworm had more important priorities to deal with. I saw that the world didn't care about me and therefore I didn't have any obligations to give a shit about the world either.
My...ehem...unique appearance was already quite effective at striking fear into the hearts of others, I just needed the bite to back up my bark, which wasn't much of a problem. I've always been strong, energetic and daring as a toddler, I just needed to build up the experience as a fighter and as a sheamer, and my old home gave me ample amounts of opportunities to home in those skills.
Like all animals, human society is run through bullying and intimidations, a place where might (or simple shady influence) makes right and where only the strong will prosper, a world where there are two types of people: the hunters and the hunted. And I quickly carved out my niche in that world as the resident top predator among my peers, and they were my hapless prey, most fleeing at the mere sight of me.
At that point in my life, I had also been officially framed as the "villain" by the other kids, especially at school. All the "good kids": the dorks, the geeks, the perfectionists and overachievers, the athletes, the boring "average joes", all of them still saw themselves as the good guys opposing the barbaric bully that was "Taylor the Tyrant".
Oh, give me a freaking break XD
I didn't know if I should have been insulted or flattered by this, or if I should have pitied them for their self-imposed delusions. All kids are bullies at their core, animals who would gladly use, backstab and oppress their so-called friends for their own selfish gain if the opportunity arose. That's just a fact of life that most soft-skinned pansies are too cowardly to admit.
"I'm not a monster, I'm just being honest and playing by the rules" was my lifelong moto, but few people would listen to it. They needed a scapegoat to be the evil villain in the public eyes so the others could hold on to their imaginary moral code in order to feel better about themselves.
Yeah right. How many times and how quickly did the promise to one kid that I would dial back the bullying for a while get them to cooperate with me and go against their "friends"?
It was pathetic, really. Sometimes, I just feel like I'm too smart for this world.
So, when I learned that my family would be moving to the other side of the Atlantic, I felt about as emotional about the ordeal as whenever I bought a new toothbrush. There was nothing for me to miss back there, nothing tying me back to that old dump, and I still wonder which one of my former goons rose up to become the new alpha bully in my absence?
Before we left, I had donned my trusty ninja suit and spent my remaining few nights there moonlighting on a quest to vandalize and dismantle several places my peers held dear as popular hangout spots, just to give them a final middle finger knowing they would be throwing parties once I was gone.
The ninja costume was necessary as some of the stunts I've pulled over the years to mess with the kids were best done incognito. Plus, I looked sharp in black and I'm a master at stealth, so why the hell not?
This new home was hardly different from my old one, except for being much colder, as this was the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, not Cape Town. If anything, the kids were even bigger pussies here. It was downright comical how quickly I got most of them to shit their pants at the sight of me over one mesely summer.
But there was one exception. I met this chick who was tough as nails and not bad-looking either XD Even if she did have the dumbest last name imaginable. Like seriously XD If family naming was like Russian roulette, they took the bullet from an elephant gun.
But her comical name aside, she quickly caught my interest by giving him and my main lackey a good fight at the playground. I always liked to assert my superiority by flirting with whatever pretty girl I came across, even if I knew that I stood no chance with them. That mattered little to me, as I also greatly enjoy getting a rise out of people, for I'm a shameless, bonified troll too XD
And there was nothing that riled girls up more than being "objectified". Because them fanning over the hunkiest dullard of a pretty boy at school totally wasn't objectifying. No hypocrisy there.
But she's not like other chicks, she's like a guy. She's a hardcore tomboy, obsessed with sports and yielding a fiery temper. A temper I relish to set off XD
I usually wouldn't go beyond casual if crude flirting, but something about this girl intrigued me so I continued trying to chat her up. Maybe there was just something special about her, or maybe given the fact that I was a boy pushing thirteen, I was just being horny, and the thought of a chick who could kick my ass turned me on.
Of course, given the fact that our first encounter involved us beating the shit out of each other, I didn't make the best first impression on her and she made it no secret that she hated my guts. The tiny little fact that my dumb lackey went against my back and assaulted two of her sisters with a baseball bat out of revenge for getting his ass handed to him probably didn't help.
And it was worth mentioning that one of the sisters was only five and received a broken arm, and said lackey was caught in the act by two passing officers and was now on the run from juvie. A true retard if I've ever met one XD
The numbskull begged me to cover him but I, obviously, had little desire to help this imbecile, even I was frankly appalled by his actions and for all my misdeeds I drew the line at maiming a toddler. And I wasn't foolish enough to get in trouble with the law for the sake of one dumbass who thought it was a smart idea to assault two people in broad daylight.
After things cooled down a bit I tried making my moves on the chick again, with no success. She was upset and she despised me, not helped by the fact that her dad had just gone through a messy divorce and was facing financial troubles, forcing them to live in a crappy little apartment with her siblings.
That was another oddity about that girl. Prior to Splitsville, her parents were apparently busy little bees and gave her no less than nine siblings! And if that alone wasn't absurd enough, all of them but one were girls, with her and her little dweeb of a brother in the middle.
Being a rough and tumble gal living within a horde of prissy girls undoubtedly wasn't the life she had wanted, which might explain why she felt so close to her dork of a brother despite him being a total wiener, and her total opposite. The kid had a name but I prefer to call him "pipsqueak", as it describes him perfectly. The fact that I might have given the pipsqueak a few bruises prior to meeting her also didn't land me in the girl's good grace. Some luck XD
But I'm no quitter, and I kept trying, and I would soon learn that she was as stubborn as a mule. That, of course, didn't deter him. I always liked a challenge.
Eventually, things changed. The playful (at least on my side) antagonism was all fun and games until the Big Bad Wolf showed up.
During the last days of summer, I had to avoid attending an obnoxious family reunion and lied about having to attend a sleepover at a friend's place.
In reality, being the passionate outdoorsman that I am, I had hiked to a local lake for a camping trip. By sheer coincidence, my crush and her family had the same idea and I, naturally, didn't miss the chance to greet her while she was in her bathing suit, only to receive a broken nose and a very thorough speech about how much I sucked for my troubles, and she gave me a very clear hint to piss off. At that point, I had enough and tried to save my dignity by telling her the same thing and parting ways for good, but the universe apparently had other plans for me.
As luck would have it, their dad went missing and a rogue wolf had conveniently arrived to mark his territory at the lake, and the kids were ideal appetizers for the hungry beast, served on a silver platter.
He was one gnarly, scary son of a bitch, literally XD After already having survived one run-in with the wolf and almost having lost a big chunk out of my thigh, I had every reason to run and leave the others to their fate.
I had the perfect opportunity for it too. I saw the cur heading towards their camp but he didn't see me. It was the ideal chance to scram out of there.
But I didn't. I still don't know what possessed me on that day, but they say that in a life and death situation people tend to show their true colors, so maybe...just maybe...I'm just a tad more noble (or a lot more foolish) than I like to give myself credit for.
Maybe it was just pitty, but at the end of the day, I don't regret rushing to their aid. Actually, it was kind of an honor cuz these guys did something I didn't expect. They stood by each other throughout this whole ordeal. Even though they knew their lives were on the line they stayed together. Their only goal was to protect each other. This made me start to wonder if I had been wrong this whole time? Were other people capable of being that selfless?
And as it turned out, I made the right decision, mostly. Despite several of us getting mauled, a swift thrust of the knife to the beast's throat resulted in another victory for man over nature. Of course, I delivered the killing blow, who else could have? Even if I lost his left pinky in the process.
And I had finally impressed the girl too, enough for her to give me a chance to be friends and she even willingly stayed behind at my home to nurse me back to health before my folks arrived to ground me for a month.
After having served my sentence, I walked out into a new life. What my "role" in this new environment was now remains unclear. I was no longer the "bully" (for what little distinction that title entailed), that was part of our agreement, but I was not exactly socially accepted either, as my old reputation still lingered among our peers, ensuing fear and distrust.
At the end of the day, I was the creepy-looking but devilishly charismatic smart alec who no one liked but would never tell him that to his face, and the one who hangs out with the local jock-of-all-traits, the first true friend he had in a long time.
Her name, Lynn Loud. No, really. That actually is her last name XD
It was a miracle by all accounts that I would ever meet someone like her.
She's similar to me in a lot of ways, she's tough and rowdy, someone whose idea of fun would be viewed as physical punishment by most people. She's strong, she's eccentric and when caught up in the heat of the game she tends to forget about her own strength. She wasn't humble either when it came to sportsmanship, she was a major braggart.
And being the unruly jock that she is, she's not known for being very considerate either and is pretty bad at reading other peoples' feelings. Even most of her sporty friends preferred not to go one on one with her.
And since I'm no angel myself, that works just fine for me.
That's why we get each other so well, both of us are tough, capable of sucking up lots of pain and we don't care that much about being sentimental and can take insults in strides and retort with a snappy comeback. Lynn could simply relate to me in ways that most people couldn't.
And both of us never held back to call each other out on their shit, we're quite honest with each other in the bluntest of ways, which often results in one of us (usually Lynn) dishing out a good roughhousing in retribution which we would later laugh off as good fun, in a way only close friends could.
Of course, having only one friend had its disadvantage, as I would soon learn when it came to homework assignments. Obviously, no one was itching to make me their partner, and while Lynn was reasonably well-liked, no one seemed to want to partner up with her either, not even her closest friends. I quickly found out why.
As her new best friend, I inevitably got stuck with her on these kinds of dual assignments and keeping true to the image of jocks, Lynn is not especially sharp-witted and not only lousy with academics but also a major procrastinator.
Our latest assignment had been a history report on Fort Detroit and its role in the French and Indian War, not the most boring topic imaginable as it did involve bloody warfare XD but if it didn't involve sports or it didn't require physical exercise it would not hold Lynn's attention for long.
I learned the hard way that I should not let her do her part of the assignment on her own, as she would usually delay it or outright forget about it until it was too late. And even when we were studying together, it was hard for her to keep her nose in the book.
If she asked for a bathroom break or to go grab a soda from the fridge I would usually find her working out in my yard or channel surfing for the latest sports tournament.
It was frustrating but I always had a knack for improvising. Probing into Lynn's over-competitive nature was always the best tactic. Doing an impression of a chicken while proposing my dare usually worked wonders.
"You couldn't read through this if your life depended on it." I would taunt her. "Those big words must be too much for you to handle."
"Oh, yeah! I'll make you eat those words!" she would snap.
"Try writing them down instead." I would ever so snidely advise.
And that usually got her to focus on our studies, but with Lynn being Lynn, she would tend to skim through, skip over important information, misspell names, get facts wrong or paragraph them badly. Meaning I would have to do extra work fact-checking it later. Lucky me.
I'm starting to consider if I should try being nicer to the nerds in our class, like that Cici girl? Asian kids always did best in school. And let Pinocchio Roberts suffer Lynn as a study buddy for a bit? Oh yeah, I definitely like the sound of that! Teach her a lesson for mouthing off to me XD""
"Mercifully, our study session came to an end, and the two of us went outside and sat on the steps at my porch, enjoying the peaceful autumn evening."
"You're such a meat-head, y'know that Lynn?" Ryan teased her. "With your grades I dunno how you're still on all those teams at school."
"Pffft...show's how much you know." she bragged with her typical cocky grin. "A truckload of sports scholarships will get you a long way."
"That stuff might get you into college, Einstein." Ryan smirked, never ceasing to be amazed by her cluelessness. "But being the school's MVP sports junkie won't save your ass from summer school with your failing grades."
"Thanks for the advise, dad." she scoffed in return.
"God help me if I ever have to tutor you." Ryan did an exaggerated shudder.
"Thanks but no thanks, wiseguy. I've got Lisa for that." Lynn told him smugly.
"Little Lizzie? Sure." Ryan was dripping with sarcasm. "Y'now, I didn't buy that joke the first time you said it. What makes you so sure I'll buy it the fourteenth time?"
"Believe what you want." Lynn shrugged. She couldn't blame him for not believing that 4-year old Lisa was a super scientist, especially given how their father's new 'no experiments' policy at home didn't allow her to build anything that could prove Ryan wrong.
"If she's so smart why can't you get her to do our homework for us?" Ryan asked jokingly.
"I've tried, believe me." Lynn snarked. "But she just gave me lectures about how cheating on school work is bad for your mental development and such crap."
"That does sound like something your dad would say." Ryan snarked back.
"He does back her up on that." Lynn admitted. "But he also agrees that a lot of healthy exercises is important for a growing girl. He just won't listen when I tell him that having too much random trivia up there is a bad thing." she emphasized by tapping her head.
"Could you get any more stereotypical?" Ryan snorted. "We get it. You love sports more than anything. So much so that you literally have to wear your love for them on your sleeves." he gestured at her red and white track pants and similarly colored letterman jacket.
"You're one to talk." Lynn sniped and tugged his leather jacket. "All you're missing is greaser hair! We get it, you think you're bad."
"Give me some slack, I'm not used to winter wear." Ryan shrugged sarcastically. "Long sleeves are so weird."
Lynn snickered. "Really? I can't wait to see your reaction to snow!"
"Snow? What's that?"
"You're shitting me?" Lynn asked incredulously.
"It's that white stuff you find near Santa's workshop, right?"
Lynn playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Can it, Paste Face."
"I'm not joking, Football-For-Brains ." Ryan retorted snidely. "We don't get any snowflakes where I come from. What's it like playing in the snow anyway?"
Lynn blinked. "Eh...it's just like playing with wet sand, only it's a lot more frosty to the touch." she shrugged, trying to explain it as best as she could. She never thought she would have to explain snow to someone.
"What an insightful explanation." Ryan snarked.
"Alright, smartass." Lynn interrupted him while rolling her eyes. "We both know that I'll be off tomorrow and I still have basketball practice. So, if you've got something important to tell me, as unlikely as that is, this is your last chance."
"Yeah, how can I forget about your joyous family reunion. Daddy even got you guys a day off from school for it, I so envy you." Ryan told her half-seriously, knowing he was in for a boring day at school tomorrow. "Where did he get the cash for the plane tickets anyway?"
"Mom paid for them, he'll just be escorting us to the airport. He still feels...eh awkward about seeing her again."
"Not even the promise of fine cheddar could convince him otherwise?"
"Very funny." Lynn quipped in a deadpan tone. "But seriously, Pop-Pop's old summer home in Appleton is pretty sweet. I haven't been there since I was eight."
"Pop-Pop? How did your gramps earn that name anyway? Is he that good at popping things?" Ryan snarked.
"Why don't ya come visit him at his nursing home and ask him yourself? He's pretty cool, but his eyes ain't what they used to be so he might not scream his head off meeting you." Lynn teased him.
"I'll consider that." Ryan replied in a tone that suggested he wasn't remotely interested.
Lynn heard her phone ringing and found a message."It's Margo, I better hurry up. Can't keep the gals waiting again." Ryan rolled his eyes hearing that name.
"Guess this is goodbye for now." her tone grew sadder with realization.
"Looks like it..." Ryan sighed in disappointment but quickly perked up. "Which reminds me. Are you up for a visit to that adventure park after school on Monday? My treat, as usual."
Lynn smiled. "Sure am! I loves me a good rock climbing!"
"Cool." Ryan replied. "Just one thing." he added in a more serious tone.
"This is supposed to be a best friends trip. Just you and me, no Pinocchio, no Crutch Girl, and no surprise babysitting gig thanks to the pipsqueak inviting the rest to you to tag along like last month's "slumber party"."
"Don't blame Lincoln for it, we never planned for that sleepover. It was a last minute detour that went out of hand." Lynn responded with more levity. "I didn't think my little bro had the guts to punk you like that."
Ryan did not look amused. "That never would have happened if you didn't have a password as obvious as 'Lynner'."
"Hey, don't worry. It will be just the two of us. Besides, I've changed my password."
Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "Is it "Lynnsanity' by any chance?" he asked wryly, making Lynn freeze.
"No...of course not..." she said nervously and sought to change the subject. "What's the occasion anyway? Why Monday?"
"Nothing all that important." Ryan responded with an air of casualness. "I'm just turning thirteen that day."
Lynn's eyes widened. "Monday's your birthday?!"
"Mmmhm..." Ryan nodded nonchalantly.
Lynn looked at him incredulously. "Why are just telling me that now?"
"Because, if I've told you earlier, it might have given you some hairbrained idea. Like throwing me a surprise birthday party and duke all the kids from class to come even though they want nothing to do with me." was the boy's blunt response.
Lynn looked flabbergasted. "Of course I would have, you idiot! It's your freaking birthday!"
"That's just it. Me and Renee don't do birthday parties. We think it's a waste of time, plus I didn't have a shortlist of friends back home to warrant a party, still don't do." Ryan continued, as nonchalantly as ever.
Lynn blinked. In hindsight, she shouldn't have been that surprised, knowing Ryan's backstory, as well as about his absentee parents and his less-than-supportive sister, but still, it was a rather depressing revelation for her to hear.
Seeing how she didn't respond, Ryan sighed. "Look, Lynn. At the risk of sounding super mushy, lemme explain. You're supposed to enjoy your birthday with those closest to you, right? Which is why I wanna spend the day with you. You're my best bud and it would mean a lot to me, you understand that?" he told her with uncharacteristic sincerity.
Lynn blushed, happy that the dim evening light helped conceal that. She supposed Ryan had a fair point regarding the birthday parties, and who was she to deny him his sole wish for his big day?
"Okay, if that's what you want then I'm all for it." she gave him a warm smile. Ryan was surprised that he had managed to convince her so quickly but he wasn't complaining.
He brightened up. "Awesome. I can already tell this will be the best birthday I ever had."
"Just let me buy you a cake after the park, so this won't be too pathetic." Lynn added snidely.
"Fine by me, just no stupid 'happy birthday' songs or pointy hats, kay?" Ryan smirked at her before spitting into his hand and offering a shake.
"Deal." Lynn spat into hers and shook it. Her phone started ringing again.
"You better get going. Pinocchio's growing impatient it seems." Ryan snarked, hiding his disappointment.
"I guess...I can't bail on my team." Lynn sighed dejectedly as they both stood up and Ryan patted her back. Lynn grabbed her backpack and strapped it on before looking at him, seemingly contemplating.
"Oh, what the hell." she grumbled and gave him a tight hug. Ryan grew stiff and his cheeks heated up before she released him.
"You stay out of trouble." she teased him before taking her leave, waving.
"You take care now!" Ryan waved back, grinning widely.
"Yep, this would definitely be the best birthday ever. At least that's what I believed at the moment. But unfortunately, this story can't be all about me. The rest of Louds were getting ready for their trip, and they were all stoked about it!
XD Or more precisely, some of them were while others just smiled and nodded for their siblings' sake. But I'm getting ahead of myself."
Back at the Loud's apartment, it was close to 8.30 p.m and the kids were getting ready for bed as tomorrow they would have to be early risers in order to catch their plane.
Lincoln was probably the most eager to see his mother and remaining sisters again and on this night he was acting notably more chipper than he had in a long while.
Their last few months had undoubtedly changed him and his sisters, partially for the better as they learned not to take their family and the other good things in their life for granted, but the ordeals that life kept throwing at them had jaded them all.
But tonight he was willing to brush aside the hardships of life in his eager anticipation of the incoming weekend, as were several of his sisters.
Wearing an orange, white and black shirt long sleeved shirt, Lincoln helped tuck his younger sisters in, as he often did, though Lana, as usual, proved to be the most restless.
"I can't believe I'm gonna see Lola again!" the pajama wearing tomboy squealed in excitement as she finished packing up.
"Just don't overstuff your backpack, spaz. It's just a weekend trip." Lincoln chuckled as he gave her a cup of hot chocolate with a marshmallow, hoping that would dial down her boundless energy.
"Sorry, I'm just excited." Lana said before taking a sip. "Me and her can finally ride our car together again!"
"I guess, Lola did fight hard for custody of that car." Lincoln joked. "But the color of pink is her trademark."
"And mom says that we'll have plenty of wide open spaces to do so!"
"Your enthusiasm is admirable, Lana. But it would benefit you to regulate your overwhelming sensations of jubilation in order to ensure a mandatory and continues eight hours of rest." Lisa interjected from the top bunk, glancing away from her book about quantum. "And the observation of aerosols from an alternative angle will be much less enjoyable with chronic fatigue."
"Wut?" Lana made a face, utterly confused.
"She says not to get so hyped up, otherwise you won't be able to sleep." Lincoln explained. "And cloud watching from above won't be fun if you're sleepy."
"Oh! I get it now." Lana beamed and glanced at the genius. "Hey, Lisa! I found these in the trash can, I think they're yours." she pulled up a handful of friendship bracelets and showed them to her.
Lisa cast her a look of exasperation. "You may take ownership of those inane trinkets if you please. I have no use for them." she responded indifferently and turned back to her book.
"You got those from daycare?" Lincoln asked.
"Unfortunately, that hack that dares to identify herself as an educator encourages everyone to try and socialize, and there's one twit who seems to have developed an odd fascination with me. She follows me everywhere, tries to get me to cuddle with her plush giraffe and constantly pesters me about watching Blarney the Dinosaur." frustration quickly crept into Lisa's voice.
"And the most demeaning part of it all? Every time I dignify her presence by trying to strike up an intellectual conversation, the only response she can convoke is: 'You tawk funny, Wisa, hi hi hi.'" she finished her mini-rant with a mock impression.
"Sounds like Lisa found a new BBF in the whole wide world." Lana giggled teasingly.
"Preposterous." Lisa sneered indignantly. "Everone knows I shouldn't be there. I should be one of the top minds in the country! And I would be if not for those insipid child labor laws!"
"Lisa, maybe you should try loosening up." Lincoln suggested helpfully. "You can always conquer the world of science when you grow up, but maybe now you should try enjoying your childhood? Maybe you can teach your new BFF to play more...eh...intellectually-stimulating games? Y'know, teach her book smarts."
"That lackwit couldn't differentiate a triangle from a pyramid." Lisa dismissed him.
"I don't even understand why father still sees the need to send me to that wretched pit of drool, snot and crayon! With Luan and Lucy keeping their studies at home it's not like I'll be left unsupervised to perpetrate my "dangerous experiments"!" her frustration grew as she had to refer to her own experiments as unsafe.
"I think a certain grumpy monkey could use some hot coco." Lana teased her and rushed for the kitchen.
On the bottom bunk, Lucy, who as usual kept silent as she didn't want to interrupt them, finally spoke up.
"Me and Luan could vouch for you to be our teacher, but I have serious reservations that it will be to your satisfaction. I'm sure our simple studies will quickly bore you." she said morosely.
Lisa considered it. "I'm perfectly willing to give it a try. Anything has to be more bearable than the alternative."
"Sometimes, we all have to pick our poisons." the goth simply concurred.
Lincoln couldn't help but equate that metaphor to Lucy's and Luan's current predicament. They both had fully committed to being homeschooled after the bullying and ostracization they both received at school became too much for them to handle.
Amazingly the straw that broke the camel's back for the both of them happened on the same day. Luan was forced to run away from school in tears after being on the receiving end of a particularly cruel and humiliating prank from her arch-rival Kathleen, while Lucy couldn't bear to be a burden to her brother (as she saw it) after he got detention following a fight with Chandler when the latter pulled a likewise cruel prank on his little sister, that forced her to relive past trauma.
Neither he or his father were particularly fond of this idea, as that way, the girls were completely shutting themselves off from the outside world. But they new that making them continue to attend public school would only subjugate them to further abuse. It was a loose-loose situation so they simply had to choose the more beneficial option.
"So, Lucy? Are you excited to see the others?" he asked the goth in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Her little, bloodshot eyes glanced at him. "I guess, It will be nice to see mom again." she said hoarsely, the kind of tone she would adopt when she was uncertain about saying something.
Lincoln didn't need much of a hunch to see that Lucy wasn't all that thrilled about the trip, and he could guess why. Lucy had always been the sibling that fell under the radar and be ignored by the rest of the family.
Despite the fact that he has always tried to be attentive to her, her and Lana always had a good relationship and in the aftermath of the divorce Lucy and Luan of all people forged a strong bond after learning how below the superficial differences they were alike in a lot of ways, Lincoln could imagine how Lucy was worried that if all ten of them were back together she would get lost in the shuffle again.
But he couldn't think of a way to remedy that problem. The reunion was only meant to last for 48 hours and he doubted many of his sisters would agree to turn it into "Lucy Appreciation Day".
"Well...eh...it's not just that, Lucy. You'll get to see a whole new place and I'll show you around. Last time you were there you were only three, so I doubt you remember much." he tried to lift her spirit.
Lucy did grow a small smile. "That might be fun, I suppose." she replied hoarsely.
"It will. Have faith in your big brother on this one." Lincoln reassured her coolly.
Just then, the front door shut open and Lynn came in whooping. "What a workout! Beaverton's going down!"
Lucy lowered her eyelids. "I guess everyone's here now." she noted in a deadpan tone, knowing Lynn would now become the center of attention, though not because of any athletic achievements for once.
Luan was sitting at the couch, practicing magic tricks with a stack of cards when she saw the jock. "Well, lookie who's back! Did you give you-know-who a good time?" she giggled suggestively.
Overhearing that, Lincoln and Lucy both felt like rushing towards the sink to hurl.
"Here we go again." Lisa rolled her eyes, trying to keep her attention on her book.
Lynn immediately seethed. "Are we seriously having this same stupid conversation for the zillionth time!" she lamented, more tired than flat out angry by this point. She knew better than to expect Luan to keep her yap shut.
"We can stop once you spill the beans." Luan approached her, speaking in a sing-song voice.
Lynn groaned. "I ditched him over three hours ago, Chuckles. I had basketball practice."
"Yeah, sure. But if memory serves, you didn't come home after school. Well, not our home at least." Luan grinned ear to ear.
Lynn blushed and trembled with annoyance. "We were doing homework for Pete's sake!"
"Of course, a "study date"." the comedian made air quotes, her smile going nowhere. "I gotcha." she winked.
"No, you numbskull! We were just doing homework. Lameass, boring, youth-wasting history homework!" Lynn retorted.
Lana passed by carrying a cup of hot chocolate and started snickering. "Lynn's in love! Lynn's gotta boyfriend!" she started singing. The jock turned red with fury.
"And in his room, right?" Luan asked mischievously. "And did he notice your new jacket? Did he give you a compliment? Did he ask you out already?"
"That does it!"
"Oh, boy..." Lincoln gulped as he peeked out of the room while a giggling Lana rushed in. Lucy followed him, but felt a touch dizzy doing so. She chalked it up to a minor headrush.
They saw Lynn carrying Luan over her shoulder and tossing her into the bathroom.
She locked the door and pulled the keys out.
"Anger's the clincher, sis!" they heard Luan's muffled voice and Lynn clenched her fists in silent fury.
"Let's see if you're still such a wiseass after sleeping all night on the bathroom floor!" Lynn shot back and stormed off to her room with the key.
"I better do something about this. You girls better go to sleep." Lincoln sighed and rushed after her. "Lynn, wait!"
"Sigh." Lucy muttered after being left alone again.
"Hey, Luce? Do you think Lincoln will be able to free Luan?" Lana came asking.
"Probably not, unless Lynn finds it in her heart to forgive Luan." Lucy responded sullenly. "And if Lynn holds on to something, she'll only let it go when she's good and ready, whether it be grudges or objects." she continued, speaking from personal experience.
"Good God!? What's that smell!?" they heard Luan scream.
"Sorry, Luan! I had some meatballs that didn't agree with me!" Lana cupped her mouth and shouted, making Lucy grow a squeamish expression.
Whether Luan understood her or not, she did suddenly scream louder.
"Bummer, Lincoln better get that key fast..." Lana mused.
"Sigh. Better go to sleep." Lucy said to no one in particular and walked over to her bunk. She really missed sleeping in her coffin, but their father didn't allow such eccentricities anymore. At least she still had Fang, even if they had to keep it a secret from their father.
"Do you want hot coco too?" Lana asked her.
"I'll pass, I had my daily glass of blood orange before bed." Lucy responded as she tucked herself in. She felt oddly chilly and pulled her shoulders under the blanket.
She noticed Lana looking at her strangely.
"It's not real blood, it's just a type of orange that has red juice instead of...well orange one." the goth clarified. "When you open it up it looks like it's flesh suffered severe internal bleeding, it's really wicked."
"Oh." the tomboy smiled. "I knew that."
"A fascinating bit of botanical trivia, Lucy." Lisa chimed in sarcastically and tucked her book under her pillow. "But could you persuade Lana to finally turn the lights off so we can finally have some slumber?"
"She's right, we gotta wake up by 6 a.m." Lucy agreed.
"Fine." Lana groaned in disappointment and did as she was told, and the three younger sisters slept peacefully.
"Of course, fate could always be a cruel mistress and unfortunately for little Lucy, she would be in for a nasty and heart-wrenching surprise in the morning. I oughta know cuz I learned about it very quickly.
But that would only be the beginning of this story. There were far bigger surprises in store. And lemme assure ya, as vigilant as I might be, I did not see any of that crap coming...."
If anyone's wondering, this story is a "What if?" scenario, continuing on from where my unfinished fic You Know Seven's A Crowd, Right? left off, with certain retcons from A Second Chance remaining in regards to my OC.
And like the latter, this one will be more of a dramedy than the grounded stuff from before XD